Chasing Gray
by FaithIsAccidental
Summary: Juvia has been chasing Gray for as long as she has known him, trying to get him to go on a date with her but he constantly rejects her. All she wants is for Gray to say yes, so she turns to Cana for advice on the matter.
1. Chapter 1

No. Juvia had grown far too accustomed to that word and she hated it every time she heard it. Each day, she'd make her way over to Gray and ask him the same question, only to get the same question each day. She'd always ask if he wanted to go to dinner with her, even if he'd only go just the once, but each time he'd always reject her with the word no. No explanation, no other words following it and definitely not the answer she was hoping for. She would always wake up thinking that this day would be different and she would always end up disappointed. She had tried asking people around the guild what kind of things Gray liked, hoping that they would persuade him to go with her and she'd tried them all. All to no avail.

Juvia woke up at 9:30 in the morning and rubbed her eyes, getting rid of any sleep in the corners of her eyes. The bluenette had her usual breakfast and followed her usual schedule: she brushed her teeth, got a morning shower and put on her usual blue and white dress and boots before stepping out of her door and heading towards the guild.

She pushed open the large double wooden doors and stepped into the guild. She looked up at the clock. 10:30. The guild was a lot livelier than what it usually was at this time of day. It was always so much quieter when she arrived on a morning and it made Juvia curious. Was there something going on that she didn't know about? She looked around at each table. There wasn't any signs of any unusual things on them and no one was talking about anything special. They were just having everyday conversations like comparing the difficulty of their last job with those of other teams in the guild, or talking about what they've done over the week. Juvia's eyes continued to scan the room. Nothing seemed to be out of place. The bluentte turned her attention to the bar. Two of the stools had people sat on them. Cana had a barrel resting next to her and Elfman had a large cup in front of him. She glanced at each table and then froze. There was no sign of that signature raven black hair that she was used to seeing around the same table as Lucy, Natsu and Happy. Gray wasn't there. Everyone was at the guild, everyone except the one person she was looking for, the one person that she wanted to talk to. She checked the clock. 12:30. Past Noon. The ice mage was often pretty late to the guild, but never this late, not for as long as Juvia could remember. Maybe it was for the best. He had always turned her down so maybe it was God intervening, saving her the pain of rejection today. The water mage made her way over to an empty stool at the bar, away from everyone else. She let out a small sigh of disappointment as she sat down. The ever cheerful barmaid walked over to her, a slight spring in her step.

"Everything ok?" Mira inquired. Juvia sighed again before she answered.

"Yeah, I guess so".

"You sure?" Mira was the typical bar maid. She was the main person people turned to when they had someone to talk about and she could always tell when something was bothering someone. Juvia nodded.

"Yeah, I'll just have the usual thanks". Mira nodded before turning on her heels and walking away. She came back a couple of minutes later with a teacup in her hand which she placed in front of Juvia. The bluenette thanked the former S-class mage before taking a sip from the steaming cup. She set the cup down in front of her and placed her arms on the bar, propping her head up in her hands. She found her mind listing all of the things that could have kept Gray from coming into the guild today, ranging from normal things such as he was busy at home today or he was on a job to more serious and much less realistic reasons like he broke one of his legs. The water mage shook her head and took another drink of her tea before her mind wandered to one of her usual overly romantic and unrealistic fantasies where Gray confesses his feelings towards her and they live a long and happy life together. Her mind fluttered across several fantasies, each following the same simple storyline and each more unrealistic than the last. In her imaginary world, several minutes had passed, but in the real world, it was closer to several hours and Mira was stood in front of her, trying to tell her to go home for the night. Mira practically had to shake Juvia to get her to come back to reality. The bluenette looked around. The whole guild hall was silent and empty, except for Juvia and Mira, but that quickly changed as Juvia stepped out into the night, leaving just Mira in the guild. Before she knew it, Juvia was at home and in her bed.

The water mage found herself awake at 8:00 in the morning and followed her usual morning schedule to the letter. It was half past nine when Juvia walked into the guild. She headed straight to a table at the back of the hall and faced the door. She played her usual game of naming each person as they came into the guild. Levy, Jet, Droy, Cana, Elfman, Lisanna, Erza, Lucy, Natsu, Happy, Gray... She stopped playing her little game when the ice mage came wandering in. He took a seat on one of the seats close to the bar, sitting alone like he commonly did. Juvia took a deep breath as she built up the courage to ask her now routine question. Her knees refused to bend, making her legs stiff as she walked over to Gray. he had made this same walk countless times so she wasn't sure why it still made her so nervous. Thinking back she may be more nervous now than when she was the first time she asked. Maybe it was because of all the rejections she had gotten in the past that she was so worried about getting another one, or maybe it was the butterflies in her stomach, frantically fluttering to try and reach freedom as she hoped for a little three letter word beginning with 'y' and ending in 's' to come out of Gray's mouth this time. She cleared her throat in a futile attempt to get Gray's attention.

"Gray-sama?" The ice mage looked up at the bluenette upon hearing his name.

"Yeah?" Despite asking the same question so many times that she had lost count, Juvia still found it hard to find the words.

"Juvia was wondering..." She paused and took a couple of deep breaths to get herself ready for the big question. "Juvia was wondering if Gray-sama would like to go to dinner with her tonight?" She exhaled straight after she'd finished speaking, as though a weight had been lifted off her chest. Gray just looked up at her, not saying a word. Usually he had said no by now, was he actually considering it this time? Juvia's heart was beating a lot faster than it normally did when she asked this question. This time she might actually get a yes from him. The silence seemed to last for an eternity. Gray finally opened his mouth, making the water mage devote her complete attention to the next word that came out of his mouth.

"No, I'm busy tonight". Juvia's heart sank. Why had he waited so long just to give her practically the same answer as he had done every other time she had asked this question. Had he actually considered it and then decided against it? Was he intentionally being cruel? Or was this his way of telling her that he was sick of this question and she should stop asking him all the time?

"Ok..." Juvia was holding back tears as she walked away, leaving Gray alone to his drink as she headed towards the bar. She slumped down on one of the stools, earning her a visit from Mira.

"The same as usual?" Juvia shook her head. "What'll it be then?"

"Something stronger". The bar maid looked at the water mage, confused.

"Like what?" The bluenette took a second to look around before saying anything. She was sat next to Cana, with her usual barrel beside her.

"I'll have what she's having". Mira nodded before turning to walk away. "Just a glass though please, I don't think I could drink a barrel".

"I figured". Mira smiled as she walked away. It only took a couple of minutes for her to come back with a glass of the same sake that now took up half of Cana's barrel. Juvia took a sip before coughing. This was not a drink that she was used to. It was a lot stronger than the tea she usually drank. She had no idea how she could win over Gray, she had asked everyone for some ideas, even Natsu and Happy, although they didn't provide any answers that were helpful, Happy had just suggested giving him fish. She tried to list people who she hadn't asked, but the list was so small she had practically no list. Elfman had suggested putting on some display to show she was a man, whatever that meant, Mira had suggested talking to him to tell him how she felt, as if he didn't already know how she felt, Erza had suggested getting him cake, Lucy had no idea what she could do and Cana had suggested... Juvia stopped. She didn't remember what Cana had said. In fact, she didn't recall ever asking Cana what she should do. She span on her stool to face Cana.

"Cana-san?" Cana put her barrel down on the floor and looked at her, silently asking her what she wanted. "What kinds of things does Gray-sama like?" Cana smiled as leaned in close to Juvia and started to whisper in her ear. The bluenette's eyes opened wide as Cana whispered, she tried her best to memorise every word she said. "Will that work?"

"It does for most men". She smiled as she leaned back to relax on her stool and picked her barrel back up.


	2. Chapter 2

Juvia woke up and rolled over to read the time off her alarm clock. 10:00am. She had slept through her alarm, not something that she liked doing and definitely not something that she usually did. She quickly jumped out of bed and started getting ready for the day. Her hand started to reach for the clothes that she had put out the night before. The clothes that she usually wore for going to the guild but she hesitated. She wanted Gray to say yes to her usual dinner proposal, or more accurately she needed him to say yes. She was getting sick of constant rejection but she still clung to the hope that somewhere he had feelings for her and he would go to dinner with her, which would turn into a genuine date, which would turn into a relationship and would end in th two being married and living a long and happy life together. The water mage shook the common fantasy out of her mind, she had already overslept and she had never arrived at the guild any later than mid day and that was a trend she was looking to keep. She remembered the words that Cana had whispered in her ear the day before and she figured it was worth a shot since her own plans had never worked. The bluenette opened her wardrobe and started to look for some new clothes.

It was almost twelve when Juvia pushed open the large wooden double doors and walked into the guild. She was immediately greeted with wide eyes and hushed whispers between the other members of the guild. Gray was one of the only few who had shown absolutely no interest in her arrival. His eyes hadn't even moved away from the drink in front of him, not until Cana nudged his arm and pointed towards the doors. Gray stared at the bluenette in the doorway. Juvia was wearing a long blue dress with a low v-cut neckline that showed off some of her cleavage and a pair of blue high heel shoes to match. It wasn't something that she would feel comfortable wearing to the guild everyday but if it would get her a date with Gray then it would be worth it. Juvia looked at Gray, causing him to quickly look away and take a gulp of his drink. She walked over to the bar to take a seat next to Cana, making sure that she passed Gray on the way. The ice mage kept his eyes locked on his drink, trying his best to stop himself from looking at Juvia. He hated to admit it, but he actually thought she was looking really good in that dress, but he could hardly come out and admit in front of everyone in the guild. He would never hear the end of it if he did, especially from Natsu. He was a big enough jerk already.

"It's not working Cana-san, Gray-sama didn't even look up from his drink when Juvia passed him". Cana put her usual barrel of alcohol on the ground next to her and turned to face the bluenette.

"That's because it's Gray, but trust me, he's seen you today. Just give it time"

"How long does Juvia have to wait?" Cana shrugged her shoulders.

"No clue. Could be a couple of days, could be a couple of weeks, could be never. Depends on how much he likes you in that dress".

"So does Juvia have to come to the guild in this dress every day?"

"Well, not that exact dress but I'd recommend clothing like it. You've got to catch his eye, let him know what he could have if he had said yes each time you asked him to dinner"

"But Juvia only wears clothes like this on special occasions"

"Isn't getting a dinner date with Gray a special occasion?"

"Of course it is, but Juvia doesn't feel comfortable coming to the guild dressed like this"

"Well, if you're lucky, you won't have to come in like that for very long". Juvia sighed. It felt so strange wearing a dress like this in the guild, but getting a date with Gray was her number one priority and had been since the first day that she met him and since she had no ideas left on how to drag him out to dinner, Cana's idea was worth a shot. Since she was already sat at the bar, the water mage decided to order her usual cup of tea. Juvia alternated between taking a sip of her tea and turning around to look at Gray, earning her a nudge from Cana each time she did so, asking if she needed to be reminded about what she had been told yesterday, to which the water mage just shook her head and turned back around to face the bar.

The rest of the day seemed to drag as Juvia kept an eye on the clock whilst walking around the guild, trying to get Gray to notice her and come over to talk to her. She would have went over herself, but Cana told her to stop asking Gray so much, to let him chase her for a once. It was beyond difficult for her to keep herself from walking over and asking him the same question she did every day. It had become routine for her and she ahd always found routines hard to break, but if it would end in dinner with him, she was willing to try. She did what Cana had told her the day before and tried to have conversations with other guys. Apparently it would make the ice mage jealous and more likely to come over and talk to her. Juvia had never spoken to most of the men in the guild, so the conversations were pretty awkward as they were mainly introductions, but she decided to keep talking to people.

It was 9:00pm when Juvia left to go home, along with most of the guild. It was the first time she had gone a whole day without talking to Gray whilst he was in the guild, but it wouldn't be the last. not if she was going to keep following Cana's advice. She hoped that this idea worked and she'd get to go out to dinner with him, and she hoped that it would happen soon. The only thing she could do now though was go home for the night, go to bed and try again tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been 3 weeks since Juvia had first taken Cana's advice on how she could get Gray's attention and a date with him, even if it was just one. She had come to the guild every day in the same kind of clothes, ones that Cana had suggested that were supposed to get a man's attention. She couldn't deny that they had succeeded in doing that, but unfortunately for her, it was always the wrong man. The one man she wanted to notice her seemed to be the only person who hadn't noticed her. She had even started hanging around other men in the guild and spending less time with Gray, just like she had been told to do, trying even harder to get the ice mage's attention but with very little success. She had spent so much time on trying to win Gray's attention that she had forgotten the main reason she was in a guild, work. She hadn't been on a job for quite a while and she was losing more and more jewels each day.

The bluenette slumped down on a stool at the bar next to Cana. She put down her large barrel of alcohol and turned to face the water mage.

"Any luck yet?" Juvia shook her head in response.

"Not only that, but Juvia hasn't been on a job in so long, she has just been wasting time with this". Cana thought for a minute, staring past Juvia at the wall behind her. She suddenly sat upright as she had an idea.

"Try this". She placed a piece of paper on the bar in front of them. Juvia read what was on the paper. It was a job. A long one. Her eyes scanned for the most important points, it seemed simple enough, just pick something up at point A and take it to point B, the kind of thing guilds did on a daily basis. The reward seemed too high for a job of this type, suspiciously so. There had to be something more to it. But on the other hand it would make up for the lack of the work she had been doing lately.

"Juvia doesn't know, the rewardseems a bit high so it doesn't seem like the kind of thing Juvia should do alone..."

"I didn't mention anything about doing it alone" Cana looked over at Gray. "Maybe some alone time between the two of you will get you closer together". The water mage thought about it for a moment.

"Didn't you tell Juvia to try to keep away from Gray to make him come to her?"

"Well yeah, but that hasn't worked, has it?"

"No" Juvia looked at the floor disappointed.

"So go on, ask him". She sat there for a minute, completely silent before standing up suddenly and making her way over to the ice mage.

"Gray-sama?" The ice mage didn't even look up before answering.

"Sorry, busy tonight, no time for dinner with you". Juvia almost didn't ask her question after being shot down for a date she hadn't even asked for this time.

"Juvia was just wondering if Gray-sama wanted to do a job with Juvia?" The ice mage looked up. She rarely offered him a job, just invitations to restaurants.

"What kind of job?" She held out her hand to the ice mage

"Here". He looked at her hand and then stared blankly at her.

"Umm... Juvia?"

"Yes?"

"You do know you're hand's empty, right?" The bluenette looked down at her hand. He was right, she was just holding air. She darted to the bar and back before presenting the sheet of paper to the ice mage like nothing had happened. He quickly read text before answering. "Sure, why not? I could use the money". Juvia almost jumped with joy at his acceptance. "When do we go?" She was caught completely off guard with his question, she hadn't thought that far ahead, she had been expecting a different answer after all.

"Ummm... Tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, ok". Juvia practically skipped out of the guild and headed home to start preparing for her new job with her Gray-sama.

The job lasted for about two weeks, most of which had been travel time. She slumped down on a bar stool and ordered her usual drink of tea.

"Any luck then?" The water mage shook her head.

"Gray-sama was always pretty quiet and Juvia didn't want to disturb him too much". Cana sighed.

"So you didn't talk to him at all?"

"Juvia did talk to him, but is was mainly about the job we were doing"

"You know you were supposed to take him on that job to get closer to him to improve your chances of getting a date, you did get that right?"

"Well, yeah but..."

"Nevermind, what's done is done, or not done in this case". Juvia started mentally cursing herself. Cana had given her one of the best shots she had ever had and she ended up wasting it.

"Do you have any other ideas for Juvia?"

"Yeah, I think I have one. You need a date". Juvia looked confused.

"Yeah, that's what all this is about, Juvia wants a date with Gray-sama"

"No, you need a date with someone else, you need to make him realise what he's missing and I think I know just the right person for you".


End file.
